Sounds like fun! I've been very vocal around these parts about vacation rentals not being the best investment.
1. I would want to see the owner's tax return schedule for this piece of property. 10 months seems almost too good to be true. I would expect strong rentals from May through October and then the winter holidays. Not sure about the proximity to Catoolouchee to drive ski bookings.
Agree, the owner (and listing agent) have not been very forthcoming with answers to our questions. Hasn't said anything about expenses, even though I've asked more than once. We booked two nights in July (the only AirBNB openings available) on AirBNB so we could see the place. And the PM is the owner so we've been chatting a bit. He has sent me his AirBNB Dashboard screenshots showing his earnings schedule for the rentals. They just started in 9/2020. Total Paid follows.
9/2020 315.25
10/2020 3415.37
11/2020 3336.80
12/2020 3476.48
1/2021 1726.6
2/2021 1411.35
3/2021 5260.31
4/2021 3433.80
It also appears to be fully booked in June and July, and the first half of August, and a week in late Sept.
2. My last vacation rental was at 4500 ft and AC wasn't needed. Only got above 80 degrees a day or two a year. What elevation are you looking at? You need to figure out snow removal for 3 months of the year and that might now be cheap if it's secluded. I missed that expense when initially running my numbers. When the PM company was taking discounted off season bookings between the heat and snow removal expenses I had bookings where I was making maybe $10-$20 a night.
A little over 5,000ft. I'm sure it wont be cheap to plow, and his agent said it not accessible year round.
Gotta run.
3. Rain water collection would be the exception and not the rule. Most rural properties would be served by wells. It doesn't happen often, but what if there's a drought and you are booked solid, are you trucking in water?
This property has a well, but is currently using rain water collection. This is probably the most concerning part to me. I have no idea why the well isn't being used.
4. Be aware the mgmt company will have to charge occupancy tax on the cleaning fees. They will also charge a booking fee to the renter and likely will sell damage insurance where they take a cut in lieu of collecting a security deposit. When I managed myself and collected a security deposit, people took care of my home. When I turned it over to a PM, it was license for the tenants to abuse the property. I hate to be ugly, but the "eyes" on your home after move out will likely be someone making $10 an hour and probably had relatives at the capital in January. LOL Overtime I went to the property I found damages the PM company missed. Worst was a water heater leaking damaging the sub floor. Typical example would be a busted bed frame that someone used cinder blocks to repair.
5. If linens are provided by you, be sure to account for needing new sheets and towel every year and them coming up missing. Hopefully the PM company is responsible for this. You'll still need to plan on dry cleaning bedding to get the cooties and cum stains out.
I believe the company I spoke with said we were responsible for sheets and towels.
6. At higher elevations leaves are budding in May and down by mid-October. Kind of weird and took some getting used to. Opened up some views but kind of bleak too.
This place appears to have amazing views.
7. The mountain market has always been run in cycles, much more so than the beach market. If this was a place I wanted for retirement, I'd want to love it and not just buy a place I really like. Next downturn you'll see tons of places on the market. My advice is to make sure this place is special to you so you don't have buyers remorse seeing a nicer place for the same price a few years down the road. The plus side of buying early is being able to write off all you upgrades and the furniture you want while renting it.
This is the first place my wife and I have both been really interested in in over 2 years of looking.